NYRA barring toe-grabs

The New York Racing Association has adopted a house rule that will bar the use of any front horseshoes with a toe-grab higher than 2 millimeters, effective Oct. 29, the association announced on Thursday.

The rule will also ban other traction devices on front horseshoes, including bends, jar caulks, and stickers, according to the association. The ban will be enforced at the start of the Aqueduct fall meeting.

A number of racing organizations, including The Jockey Club, have cited research showing that toe-grab horseshoes are associated with a significant increase in catastrophic injuries.

Last week, the American Graded Stakes Committee adopted changes to its rules requiring racetracks to ban front-grab horseshoes by the beginning of 2009 or lose the grades assigned to the track's stakes races.